SUNSET REGION: Shadow Ridge stuns previously unbeaten Gorman

As his players stormed the field to celebrate amongst a mosh pit of fans, Shadow Ridge girls soccer coach Harvey Robicheau watched speechlessly from the sideline.

“I’m just totally in awe of the effort these girls put up,” he said.

Brittney Esquivel scored on a free kick 10 minutes into the second sudden-death overtime Thursday to give the Mustangs a 1-0 win over Bishop Gorman in a Class 4A Sunset Region semifinal at Bettye Wilson Park.

“I was just thinking, 'I hope it goes in,’” said Esquivel, a senior defender. “I thought it would go to PKs, but we still pulled through.”

Shadow Ridge (13-2-3) advanced to meet Arbor View (13-3-2) in the region final at 4 p.m. Monday. A trip to the Southern Nevada title game March 5 will be at stake.

It was the first loss all season for the Southwest League champion Gaels (17-1-0).

“Our team came together and played hard,” Esquivel said. “Even though we were the underdog, we still got through.”

Like Robicheau, Gorman coach Lora Feely figured the game was headed toward penalty kicks.

“We were already thinking about our lineup,” Feely said.

But Esquivel’s goal sent the Gaels collapsing to the turf in heartbreak and exhaustion.

“You almost go a half-hour of overtimes; a lot of people are dying out there, and it could have gone either way,” Robicheau said.

Gorman initially charged the field to celebrate what it thought was a golden goal in the first OT, but the score was nullified by what Feely described as a “questionable” offsides call.

The Gaels lose only four seniors to graduation, but two are Division I signees in midfielder Mariah Hobbs (San Diego) and goalkeeper Alex Holland (Louisiana-Monroe).

“They led this team the entire year,” Feely said of her seniors. “We’re going to miss them. I love spending time with them.”

Junior goalkeeper Megan Brown posted a seven-save shutout for Shadow Ridge, whose first postseason trip since 2006 could prove historic.

“Arbor View’s tough,” Robicheau said. “They’re all tough. It’s going to be an all-out game again. When you’re here, you’re playing the big girls now.”

Arbor View 3, Centennial 0 — After losing twice in Northwest League play to Centennial, Arbor View coach Jay Howard felt his team was due.

And the Aggies proved their coach correct when it counted most.

Bianca Norman (27th minute), Erica Peeples (44th) and Rachael Davis (78th) scored to lead the Aggies past the Bulldogs.

“It’s hard to beat a good team three times, and they beat us twice,” said Howard, whose team lost 3-0 and 3-1 to Centennial during the regular season. “So I felt we were due.”

Falon Miller had an assist for Arbor View, which piled up 16 shots against the defending Southern Nevada champions.

Aggies junior goalkeeper Alex Luevano had three saves in the shutout.

“I thought our intensity level was outstanding,” Howard said. “It hasn’t always been that way this year, but it’s been that way for the last two weeks.”

The Aggies had four goal scorers in their 4-0 quarterfinal win over Sierra Vista on Tuesday and had three Thursday.

“Going into the year, I thought Erica would have been our main scorer, and she has been, but we’ve been getting goals from everywhere,” Howard said. “And the majority of our goals have been from the midfield the last two weeks.

“It helps because when you have a player like (Peeples, a San Diego signee), sometimes you rely on her too much, and we don’t. We’re a team.”

Northwest champion Centennial finished the season 15-2-1.

“I told the girls, playoffs is different, and it’s who shows up on that day,” Bulldogs coach Emmanuel Ayim said. “Today wasn’t our day.”

Ayim said the Northwest having three teams in the Sunset semifinals and two in the title game indicates the strength of the league.

“I would like to think, and I’m sure a lot of the coaches would agree, that the Northwest is the strongest league in the city,” he said. “You have us as the top seed being beaten by the third seed, so that just tells you about the strength of the Northwest League.”

Centennial will lose eight seniors to graduation, including two Division I signees in midfielders Ashley Mosley (Utah) and Julie Owens (UNLV).

“This loss effected them the most,” Ayim said of Mosley and Owens, “because they represent the heart and soul of the team. But they’re moving on to the next level.

“There are stages in life. This is not the end of the world. It’s a hurdle that we’re going to come back better from next year.”